European Innovation Council: State of play.

1. Research and
Innovation
European Innovation Council:
state of play
Startup Europe, 3 February 2017
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2. Research and
Innovation
Policy context: New focus on importance of innovative
firms scaling up for growth and jobs
Commission Communication of November 2016 'Europe's
next leaders: the Start-up and Scale-up Initiative' stated:
"To improve innovation support, the Commission intends to
make changes for the remaining period of Horizon 2020 to
provide bottom-up support for breakthrough innovation
projects, and will consider reinforcing this approach in
future through a possible European Innovation
Council."
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3. Research and
Innovation
"Europe has excellent science, but
we lack disruptive market-creating
innovation. This is what is needed
to turn our best ideas into new
jobs, businesses and opportunities."
Carlos Moedas
European Commissioner for
Research, Science and Innovation
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4. Research and
Innovation
EIC a political priority for Commissioner Moedas
"The European Innovation Council is my most ambitious project
as European Commissioner for Science and Innovation. Europe
spends over 10 billion euro a year on cutting edge science and
innovation. Creating new vaccines, greener aircraft, renewable
energy technologies and much more."
"But we are also missing something. We miss the ideas that do
not fit into existing categories. The innovations that create
entirely new product classes. What Clayton Christensen calls
"market creating innovation". These are the highest risk
innovations – most of them fail. But when they succeed, they
can change the world."
Commissioner Moedas, Davos 20.01.2017
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5. Research and
Innovation
The EU is already making major efforts to boost
innovation…
• Leveraging more private investment
(Investment Plan for Europe, Capital Markets Union, Pan-European Venture
Capital Fund(s) of Funds programme, …)
• Improving regulation
(Better Regulation, Innovation Principle…)
• Strengthening markets
(Digital Single Market, Energy Union…)
• Funding research and innovation
(Horizon 2020, EIT-KICs)
• Building regional capacities
(European Structural and Investment Funds)
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6. Research and
Innovation
‘Unicorns' are start-ups with market value > $1 billion
Source: Fortune, 'The Unicorn list 2016’
On scaling up:
• US: 101 Unicorns
• China: 36 Unicorns
• EU: 19 Unicorns
…but the EU is behind on scaling up companies and
market-creating innovation
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On market-creating innovation:
• Innovations that create new markets – not just improving existing products,
not just tech but also the business model
• Major new markets are often led by non-EU companies

7. Research and
Innovation
Towards a potential EIC
We consulted stakeholders on the issues and the possible
solutions:
• stakeholders (online consultation, workshop)
• national innovation agencies
• member States (H2020 strategic configuration programme
committee)
Responses: yes, Europe can do better on market-creating
innovation and fast growing companies; an EIC can help
Further details at http://ec.europa.eu/research/eic
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8. Research and
Innovation
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• 15 personalities with a track-record in starting and
scaling up innovative businesses and investing in
innovative ventures
• Commissioner Moedas presented the members at a
press conference in Davos on 20 January
• To give advice on:
a) the design and implementation of an EIC pilot
for the years 2018-20
b) future design and delivery of EU funding and
other support for market-creating innovation
under FP9
• the group will have first meeting March 2017
EIC High Level Group of Innovators

9. Nicklas Bergman Martin Bruncko Paddy Cosgrave Gráinne Dwyer Hermann Hauser
Marjolein Helder Taavet Hinrikus Ingmar Hoerr Bindi Karia Jana Kolar
Carlos Oliveira Jim
Hagemann Snabe
Kinga
Stanisławska
Constantijn
van Oranje
Roxanne Varza
EIC High Level Group of Innovators

10. Research and
Innovation
EIC preparatory measures 2017-2020
• Invite proposals targeting market-creating innovations (SME
instrument, FET-Open, Fast Track to Innovation (FTI),
flagship inducement prizes): EIC chapter in Work Programme
2018-2020
• Easier access for innovators (improved IT tools)
• Introduce interview stage in the evaluation of proposals . .
• . . by business-focused evaluators
• Expand coaching and mentoring offer
• Potentially blend grants with loans and venture capital
• Close monitoring of progress of projects
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11. Research and
Innovation
EIC pilot budget 2018-
2020
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12. Research and
Innovation
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• Discussions within COM around design and scale of a full-
fledged EIC
• Objective is to stimulate high-growth companies with market-
creating innovations
• Early experience from the EIC pilot in 2018-2020
• Various models possible (COM Agency, advisory Council of
experts, providing mix of grants and loans/equity etc)
• Stakeholder consultation on FP9, incl. EIC options, due this
summer/autumn
• Connected to overall budget (MFF)
• COM proposal for FP9 due in March 2018
EIC in next Framework Programme (FP9)

13. Research and
Innovation
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• Horizon 2020 well underway with focus on innovation
• But more could be done to boost impact of EU support for
breakthrough innovations that create and capture new
markets
• Means reaching out to new class of
entrepreneurs/innovators
• Step-by-step process: preparatory measures in 2018-20
potentially leading to a fully-fledged EIC in FP9
Conclusion

14. Research and
Innovation
Thank you !
Christopher.north1@ec.europa.eu
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